Workplace Instruction Now: Job Related Academic Skills for Eldercare Workers

Assessing the costs of poor job skills

How would you rate the job skills of your frontline caregivers? Low literacy levels, poor math skills, inability to work without supervision, absenteeism, and overall poor work performance cost businesses billions of dollars each year. In the healthcare industry—where so much depends on workers’ ability to read and follow instructions, communicate effectively with co-workers, and demonstrate compliance with regulatory requirements—poor job skills contribute to a decline in quality care.

Consider the impact of the following to the care your facility provides:

	Employees can’t understand, read or follow instructions
	Workers require constant supervision
	Failure to complete assigned duties compromises resident care or safety
	Workers demonstrate low productivity and/or are frequently absent
	Employees receive poor performance evaluations
	Worker turnover is high
	Employees are unable to fulfill daily record keeping responsibilities

"Having reviewed the WIN curriculum student edition and its teacher's notes edition, I am taken by the exceptional quality of this educational resource and the care, simplicity, and directness of its presentation. Thank you for developing this marvelous new resource. Please know it has my unqualified endorsement and commendation."

— The Rev. Dr. John M. Brndjar, President and CEO,

Enhancing performance through education

The demand for qualified, experienced employees is now greater than ever. Workplace Instruction Now (WIN) is a 40-hour adult basic education curriculum to enhance employee performance and give healthcare workers the skills they need to be successful. The curriculum is designed to improve workers' critical thinking and problem-solving skills, enhance communication, and enable staff to work more effectively as team members.

How the program works

The WIN curriculum materials include a student workbook and instructor's guide which are customized to the healthcare environment and are designed to increase workers' proficiency in a broad range of job-specific tasks. Regular skill checks measure students' progress in demonstrating competencies covered. Students learn by completing "real life" exercises which depict situations they encounter in the workplace. These exercises are structured to enhance workers' basic reading, writing, communication and math skills and include such topics as:

	Building a working vocabulary of job-related words and abbreviations
	Communicating and listening effectively at work
	Reading to follow instructions
	Understanding whole numbers and whole number operations
	Working with fractions, decimals and percentages
	Calculating weight records
	Determining the percentage of food intake
	Reading thermometers and calibrated measuring devices
	Inventorying linen

The benefits of WIN are clear

For the facility:

	Improves quality care
	Improves employee retention
	Decreases hiring, orientation and training-related costs
	Improves employee performance, versatility, and productivity
	Eases stress on employee supervisors
	Enhances employee morale and loyalty to facility
	Improves operation of the facility

For the participants:

	Improves job and "life" performance
	Provides a foundation for future training and career advancement
	Enhances self-esteem
	Improves job satisfaction

Offering WIN in your center

The Institute for Caregiver Education specializes in bringing quality workforce development programs such as WIN to healthcare managers and workers across a broad range of disciplines. We will work with you to structure the program to meet your organization's budget and needs. You may engage the Institute to set up and manage the program and market it to your center staff, or you may simply choose to purchase the curriculum materials and administer the program yourself with consultation and support from the Institute as needed.